PEOPLE with long-term health conditions and carers are being encouraged to take positive steps to take improve their health as part of a national awareness campaign.

Self Care Week, which runs to Sunday (Nov 23), aims to encourage people to take control of their health this winter.

As part of the initiative, the Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust’s Health Improvement team in Bury has come up with a list of their top 10 tips towards good self-management for people with long-term conditions.

They are:

1 Take care of your own health needs: ignoring your symptoms won’t make them go away – listen to your body’s needs, take control, keep warm and ask for help when you need it

2 Keep moving: physical activity at any level is better than doing nothing at all, and should be something you enjoy doing so you keep it up

3 Eat sensibly: don’t reach for the snacks, plan ahead and prepare meals in advance

4 Communicate: don’t presume people know how you are feeling – talk to your family, friends and health care team, write points down you want to discuss before appointments that way you won’t forget anything

5 Take positive, planned action: set yourself realistic, achievable goals and stick to them

6 Pace yourself: remembering to stop and rest throughout the day still gets the job done - overdoing it will only increase symptoms

7 Look around you: use local resources to find out what’s available to you and what’s out there i.e. your local library is a valuable resource centre not just somewhere to loan a book

8 Be good to yourself: reward your achievements ie meet up with a friend

9 Buy a calendar/diary: that way you won’t forget anything and can use it as your planner

10 Adopting a positive approach: helps us make smarter decisions, reduces stress levels and it’s never too late to start!

Rebecca Caygill, Bury health and wellbeing manager at Pennine Care, said: “Self Care Week is a good opportunity to highlight simple things that you can do to look after your health and wellbeing, from planning your eating and exercise regime to talking to friends and family about your goals."

* For more information or to get support from Bury’s Health Improvement Team: call 0845 071 0699 or visit www.penninecare.nhs.uk/healthimprovement/